swab
noun
a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.
swab
1 American
[swob]
/ swɒb /
noun
-
swabs
plural
-
a large mop used on shipboard for cleaning decks, living quarters, etc.
-
a bit of sponge, cloth, cotton, or the like, sometimes fixed to a stick, for cleansing the mouth of a sick person or for applying medicaments, drying areas, etc.
-
the material collected with a swab as a specimen for microscopic study.
-
a brush or wad of absorbent material for cleaning the bore of a firearm.
-
Slang. a sailor; swabby.
-
Slang. a clumsy fellow.
verb (used with object)
-
swabs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swabbed,
past participle, past
-
swabbing
present participle
-
to clean with or as if with a swab.
to swab the decks.
-
to take up or apply, as moisture, with or as if with a swab.
to swab soapy water from the decks.
-
to pass over a surface.
to swab a mop over the decks.
Swab.
2
American
abbreviation
-
Swabia.
-
Swabian.
swab
British
/ swɒb /
noun
-
med
-
a small piece of cotton, gauze, etc, for use in applying medication, cleansing a wound, or obtaining a specimen of a secretion, etc
-
the specimen so obtained
-
-
a mop for cleaning floors, decks, etc
-
a brush used to clean a firearm's bore
-
slang an uncouth or worthless fellow
verb
-
(tr) to clean or medicate with or as if with a swab
-
to take up with a swab
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
swabsimple
-
swabssimple
-
have swabbedperfect
-
has swabbedperfect
-
am swabbingprogressive
-
are swabbingprogressive
-
is swabbingprogressive
-
have been swabbingperfect progressive
-
has been swabbingperfect progressive
Past
-
swabbedsimple
-
had swabbedperfect
-
was swabbingprogressive
-
were swabbingprogressive
-
had been swabbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swab
First recorded in 1645–55; back formation from swabber
Explanation
If a pirate tells you to swab the deck, get out the mop! A swab is a piece of absorbent material on a stick, like a mop, but it can also be small, like a cotton swab used for cleaning ears. As a verb, to swab means to use a swab. So if you're a nurse assisting a surgeon, you might swab an incision, and if you're working on crime scene, you might swab the area for clues. On land, a swab is usually a small piece of cotton, but the original meaning of the noun was "mop used on a ship," and for a while it was also a popular derogatory term for a low-ranking sailor.
Vocabulary lists containing swab
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The House Swap
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The test could be performed using DNA collected from a blood sample or mouth swab.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
For $249, patients can order the test and mail in a swab, and after a few weeks they receive a GLP-1 “effectiveness score.”
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
Investigators took a swab from a leftover pizza crust Heuermann threw out in 2023, linking him to a hair found on the burlap sack Waterman’s remains were found in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Olympics and beyond will be determined by a one-time genetics test through saliva, a cheek swab or a blood sample.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
The swab low looked down at its wrinkled talons, narrowing its eyes.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
Five were listed as "wrong site" procedures, two involved incorrect implants, two involved retained objects such as swabs left inside patients, and one involved medicine administered by the incorrect route.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
The detective later told Tamasi not to send any of the DNA swabs for testing, she said in her deposition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
To avoid contamination, Dana puts on a face shield and opens the kit, which is a rectangle-shaped box that contains items like paper bags to store evidence and swabs for collecting biological samples.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
This approach revealed genetic material from PRV in archived throat swabs.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2026
When it was available, they also carried M-16 maintenance gear—rods and steel brushes and swabs and tubes of LSA oil — all of which weighed about a pound.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Tamasi swabbed for DNA samples in Spivey’s truck—door handles and such.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Officials swabbed his cheek to obtain DNA, and then moved him to Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026
When someone goes to their GP or hospital with flu-like symptoms, they can be swabbed and tested for influenza, Covid, RSV and other viruses.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
And though a forensics expert swabbed the interior of the yacht for explosives, there were no testing facilities on the island, said Allan Galbraith, the superintendent in charge of Operation Rainbow.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
He held up the head while Billy swabbed out the wound with weak carbolic acid salve.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
Nurses and doctors wore biohazard suits and three layers of medical gloves when they entered his room, swabbing him for virus up his nostrils and in other sites like his eyelids twice a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
But immediately after the crash, investigators carried out the meticulous process of swabbing the interior of the VW Polo for any forensic samples that could link the driver to that seat.
From BBC ● Nov. 25, 2025
This year, biologists collected samples from nine sites in California, swabbing the diminutive animals’ noses and forearms, said Katrina Smith, statewide coordinator for small mammal conservation for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
Iwasaki cautioned against the idea that people swabbing their noses with Neosporin will be a cure-all in the future.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2024
He cackles and sniffs, swabbing his face with his napkin.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
